Is copper the new red?

[DRD57]

Originally I thought I would paint my Caddy purple with a white top but I never could quite "see" it in my head. One day I took a look at a 56 Chevy in Sierra Gold / Adobe Beige and that changed the course.

I decided on a copper/bronze metallic with a creamy pearl white top. Sort of like the 56 Chevy but with a little more custom pizzaz. I originally planned on using a factory color so it could be easily matched in the event that it ever needed to be repaired. That changed when a "mistake" turne out to be "the" color I was looking for.

I had given my paint supplier a DuPont code and asked him to convert it to PPG Concept paint. The color he gave me looked nothing like the DuPont color but I liked it better and decided to compare it to some other coppers. After painting several test panels I kept coming back to the mistake that the mixer called paprika. It looks * in the sun.

Luckily, the paint mixer gave me the PPG codes that he used to make this color so, even if it's not a factory mix, I can get some more if I need it. I'm buying 4 gallons of it to do the car. I'll mix it all together to make sure I don't have any variation from can to can. I should have as much as a gallon left over as insurance for the future.

I know full well that copper is currently kind of a trendy color and as much as I hate trends I think this color combination will look great on the Cadillac.

Remember that engine block that I was grinding on a few weeks ago? This will cover up the bottom.

[river1]

although i think copper IS a trendy color of the day and my second fav is purple (black is first) i'll bet your caddy will lokk good in that color. it looks like it really POPS in the sun.

with your eye for * your cars will good no matter what color you paint them.

how does it look under a street light?

we have some areas of town that have yellow street lights that make even the coolest color look like *.

later jim

[PEDDRO]

There's RARELY a bad colour.......it's HOW it's used where it all goes wrong (i.e like painting p/s pumps, wiper motors, bumpers, etc.). Seems to be a case of "well, I bought 3 gallons so I thought I'd better use it all".

FWIW, I had a concept vehicle painted in a copper 9 years ago.....and the moment it was done (as good as it looked) I thought it was going to date quickly. I was wrong actually......still looks good!!

[Devilrod]

Hey Don,

Looks like a perfect color for a Caddy. Can't really see it dating either.
Perfect color to be offset by those wonderful Caddy bumper bars. The color has a timeless look to it don't know why but it does.

Cant wait to see the finished car.

Brett

[Brootal]

Sierra Gold was always a cool colour and STILL is a cool colour.

The Cad will look cool for sure. It might date the car, but it'll date it to 1957, which is a GOOD thing.

[Carps]

I like it, and it'll look great on that big barge.  I'm thinking pearl white top and maybe some matching scallops?  Then again, by the time I get home, I'll probably be thinking some other weird scheme.  

As for it being the new red, nah, if you wuz at Mornington a couple of weeks ago, you'd know that green is the new red.  

Hmm, wonder how it's look with candy lime green scallops outlined in purple?

You're gunna hafta do sumpin with a second colour, coz four gallons just aint gunna be enuff for that battleship.      

[Gilles]

The fact that your are choosing the color (very nice) sounds good : it means you are in the good way to finish this car pretty soon. I wonder how you will be able in the future to choose wich car to drive! 32 roadster? Model A coupe? Cadillac?  

Gilles

[GPster]

Denise's first idea of color for the "big Olds" was going to be copper, I wonder what she ended up with? It seems that every time you look at one color it seems right until you see a mistake that's better. I'm somewhat confused about the oil pan though. That's just a practice shot and you're going to strip it, right? According to Chat last sunday night the only acceptable color for engines (enjens?) in Ramblers and Cadillacs is "Pink". I prefer something closer to the color of new/clean oil. GPster

[efingstein]

Don, did you see that very light silver bottom (below the chrome) and bone top (above the chrome) 56 chevy 4DRHT with caddy caps at the roundup? That was a very nice combo that if you think about it, dosen't really sound good together, but on the car they really worked.

[enjenjo]

I prefer something closer to the color of new/clean oil

Tint the oil to match the car.  We didn't say that pink was the only color, just the best.

[GPster]

Tint the oil to match the car.  We didn't say that pink was the only color, just the best.

You guys must use ATF in your engines then. Which would probably be OK because Crosley says they are all lubricants anyway. GPster

[DRD57]

I'm not even remotely close to getting this car finished. I am however, close to putting the body back on the chassis which means the bottom of the car and the engine/trans have to be painted. That's why I'm choosing colors and buying paint now.

The oil pan will not get stripped (again). I've got over 10 hours of work in it already and I have a couple of runs in the clear that still have to be dealt with. I spent a heap of time and money getting rid of several acres of pink on this barge. There's NO WAY it's going to get one speck of pink paing anywhere.

I have a couple of ideas for some striping or scallops but they do not involve any purple or green (and CERTAINLY not any PINK!). Maybe some copper scallops on the roof pinstriped in burnt orange or butterscotch. Or, maybe some Tommy the Greek style stiping in black with a tan pinstripe.

Having options on which car to drive is a good thing. Last Saturday I drove the roadster to the Donut Derelcts and then drove the coupe to dinner and to the Ford show the next day.  Next I'll need a wide shop with lots of doors so I don't have to play musical cars to get the one in the back out for a drive.

[Beck]

If anyone else is considering copper check these factory colors out.
Mitsubishi - Durango Copper Pearl (this color is best remembered as the top 1/2 of Troys 39 Chevy coupe "Predator")
OR the new Mazda 3 & 6 have a new copper color available that I like ( I don't konw the name of the color)

DRD57, your doing the right thing by mixing all of the gallons together. I have had some disapointments when spraying from different mixes. It never is quite right. How much $$$ would be lost if that 5 gallon bucket of paint was knocked over?

Beck

[HotRodLadyCrusr]

The answer to your question is yes.  Yes in a major way.  Joe is right, the plan for Big Olds was shiny copper.  Even went so far as to pick out two different shades that I really liked, paints mixed and a spray-out done of one of the shades.  I had the top and interior done in my head as well.  

After a summer of different car shows all over the midwest I was second guessing whether I really wanted a color on Big Olds that looked like I was jumping on the band wagon so to speak.  It seemed every show I attended another buddy had painted his car copper.  Seemed every other cover car in the mags was painted one shade or another of copper.  The one thing I kept thinking was they all tended to be "small" type hot rods, like roadster and coupes, not any large cars like my Olds or your Caddy.  Which would be a good thing for you.

I LOVE the copper shades but after carrying around that can of paint with the color sprayed on it for months, looking at it while I watched TV, looking at it while I surfed on the computer, looking at it while I blow dried my hair and put on my makeup,   etc, I came to the conclusion I wanted something different for Big Olds.

I'm thrilled with the color I choose now.  I was alittle nervous at first cuz for over a year I thought it would be copper and to change the picture in my head of a what Big Olds would look like finished was very hard.   I know your Caddy will look AWESOME in a shade of copper, I can see it very clearly in my head right now.  Looking forward to seeing it live and in person one of these days.

[kb426]

Boy, I really agree with the "mixing all the paint together" part.  I'm going to have to repaint the box on the 53 because of lack of planning on my part.